Find your strength and watch it grow.

So You’ve Started a New Year?

It never fails. The new year brings an eclectic mix of resolutioners and regulars to the gym floor. You’ll spot a regular by that cute little look of impatient disdain on their face. I mean, I get it. Year after year you hear the same song and dance from people who are “making this year their year”. Yet, they hop on a treadmill, send sexy texties, blatantly breaking the unwritten weight room rules. But, let’s be real here. There are plenty of seasoned gym rats that still think the squat rack is dying for some aggressive bicep curls. [It’s not, by the way.]

What if this year actually is someone’s new year? You can’t tell me that there aren’t handfuls of people who made that change January 1st years ago and never turned back. So while I too love my personal space while working out, I can see a sea of hopefuls, Sally. Maybe this will be their year. Maybe this year will be better than the last. Who are you/me/we to judge? Remember that time you swore you were going to do “that thing” but never actually got around to doing “that thing?” #AmIRight? Remove your foot from your mouth, take a bite of humble pie and keep reading. If you are one of those blessed individuals who have made fitness your lifestyle, that’s fantastic. You’ve seen the light. But, that’s not what this is about. I admire the courage of anyone trying to make it work. I admire their courage even more when year after year of not following through they still believe this year just may be the year. Imagine that? Not giving up.

Maybe even you have a ton of burning questions about fitness, health and your body. Unless you are cruising on maintenance mode, maybe you are looking to get stronger or leaner or build some lethal guns. (currently flexing)

Whatever the case may be, we are all striving, in some way, to be a better version of ourselves. The gym is a fabulous place to do that. Think about the possibilities of strength, commitment and dedication that go on in there! People can literally save their lives in the gym. Here’s a real life example about “Laurie”. Laurie is a working mother and wife who has steadily watched her weight go up, her movement go down and developed some seriously cranky knees along the way. She a young woman who used to love to dance and run and frolic and never worried about her weight. Over the years, she’s done her best to be active at least one hour out of her day in the gym, but it hasn’t led to much change in her clothes or on the scale. In fact, when Laurie and I met, walking up or down the stairs royally p-ed off her angry patella. Her whole experience in the gym was focused on losing weight. She’d run or do cardio to try her darndest to slim down. After a meeting together peeling away the layers, it was super clear that while losing weight would be beneficial and simply awesome, she just didn’t want her knees to hurt so she could chase after her little one. That’s the meat and potatoes, folks. We want our bodies to look a certain way, of course. But — it needs to function efficiently. After a few months of some SURIOUS posterior chain training, she now runs up the stairs to greet me before each session. We get to do cool things like box, battle rope, kettlebell swing and farmer’s walk. She feels good. She performs well. She needs new, smaller pants. She is a better version of herself for her family and I enjoy every session with her. Her knees no longer stop her from being the mom she wants to be.

So, here’s the thing. If this year really is your year, what are you going to do to make it happen? What kept you from sticking with it last year? Be honest with your intentions and allow yourself the freedom to grow from it. By now, there’s a plethora of research praising the benefits of intense, short durations of exercise. BAM. Time is no longer an excuse. There is an unlimited supply of bodyweight movements to get zee job done. BAM. Equipment is no longer an excuse. There is a crazy amount of at-home workout videos, YouTube videos and tutorials all over the web. BAM. Money is no longer an excuse. So, welp, that leaves motivation. Truth? Motivation fades. It won’t always be there. In fact, it’s not going to get the job done. I don’t care what half-naked fitness pros tell you via Instagram each morning. Their fab bodies might inspire you, but motivation has to come within; and on the days or weeks where you aren’t motivated, do something that makes you feel good about yourself. Because being a healthier version of you is quite frankly a better you. Don’t fall off the wagon just to wait until another ball drops.